Implantable cardioverter/defibrillators (ICDs) are well known and effective devices for treating patients with cardiac rhythmic dysfunction. The ICD has a pulse generator and an electrical lead with an electrode at the tip. The ICD implantation procedure generally takes about two hours and is relatively low risk, as it rarely requires open heart surgery. Usually, one to two lead wires are placed through a large vein in the chest and threaded down to the inside of the heart. The lead wires are then connected to the pulse generator, which is placed in a pocket under the skin of the patient.
The details of the implantation procedure vary depending of the condition and anatomy of the patient, but typically a guiding catheter is introduced through a major blood vessel such as the cephalic vein. The catheter is then moved through the vasculature to locate an access vessel of interest in the heart, such as the coronary sinus ostium. The catheter can either be navigated on its own through the venous pathway to the ostium or be slid over a previously inserted guide wire. After the coronary sinus ostium has been located by the guiding catheter, an ICD lead can be inserted through the catheter into the coronary sinus or one of its branches.
There is a need for a technique of temporarily securing a newly implanted lead during the time in which a guiding apparatus used in the implantation procedure is removed, such that implantation time and patient trauma are reduced. The present invention fulfills this and other needs, and addresses other deficiencies of prior art implementations and techniques.